What are the differences between the CBS episodes & the 1st run syndicated episodes

[jehobden]

Originally Posted by mets82

It seemed like the show was ok either way. The only difference was the cast, to me. Btw, I thought Julie Cobb was in the episode where she said goodbye to Charles?

Also, James Widdoes who played Mr. Pembrooke in Season 1 was in the movie Animal House as Robert Hoover.

James Widdoes is now a prolific sitcom director. He directed an episode of the 2005 WB sitcom, Twins, where I attended the filming in person, and he's a frequent director of Two and a Half Men now.

[glickmam]

Originally Posted by MacLeaper

Well, Charles did have a bit of a different setup and interaction with the Pembrokes than he did with the Powells. For one thing, both Mr. and Mrs. Pembroke were present in the house, whereas with the Powells, only Mrs. Powell was there. Mr. Powell was stationed away overseas somewhere with the Navy and only appeared very infrequently. (I know he showed up at least once in the series, but I think he may also have been mentioned as coming back for a visit, but didn't actually make an appearance.

And once Charles' mom, Lillian, became a regular, Mrs. Powell's appearances became more sporadic, because after the show entered syndication, the program budget was slashed, and as a result, executive producer Al Burton could not afford to have both characters in the same episode.

[ThomasE]

Originally Posted by MacLeaper

I thought the second season premiere episode "Amityville" worked well enough, considering that it had been about three years in between the CBS run and the start of the syndication run. I'm glad they got Michael Pearlman to reprise his role as Jason- he seemed to have the strongest connection with Charles in the first season (particularly evident in the Christmas episode "Home for the Holidays".) And at least they had someone there to play Mrs. Pembroke too, even though it wasn't Julie Cobb.

Actually, it hadn't been three years. It was actually a year and a couple of months. Now, you want to talk about three year gaps, then "It's A Living" would fall into that category.

[HugeBensonFan]

A lot of things were different between the cbs episodes and syndicated ones that I noticed. Particularly the look was different. Scott Baio's hair was different and clothes were definitely different. He went from preppy and proper looking to casual. Also Buddy getting dumber and wackier as the show went on into syndication, which personally I liked

[MacLeaper]

Okay- yeah, you're right. Sorry. It's about a year and a half. I was thinking of the start of the series in 1984 and then Season 2 resumed in 1987 and got mixed up.

[glickmam]

Originally Posted by jehobden

James Widdoes is now a prolific sitcom director. He directed an episode of the 2005 WB sitcom, Twins, where I attended the filming in person, and he's a frequent director of Two and a Half Men now.

Ironically, the creators of Two and a Half Men, Chuck Lorre and Lee Aronsohn, were former writers on Charles in Charge.

[TMC]

What was the exact story behind the syndicated run to begin with? I know that the absolute basics are that CBS didn't give it a second season because of low ratings. But what exactly happened in-between besides it being picked up for syndication in the middle of the 1986-87 TV season and the Pembroke family actors' contracts being released.